As of 2021, there were about 17 different types of plant milks, of which almond, oat, soy, coconut and pea are the highest-selling worldwide.

[4][5] Production of plant milks—particularly soy, oat, and pea milks—can offer environmental advantages over animal milks in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and land and water use.

[5] Before commercial production of 'milks' from legumes, beans and nuts, plant-based mixtures resembling milk have existed for centuries.

[9] The Wabanaki and other Native American tribal nations in the northeastern United States made milk and infant formula from nuts.

[3][13] In medieval England, almond milk was used in dishes such as ris alkere (a type of rice pudding)[14] and appears in the recipe collection The Forme of Cury.

[3] Other ingredients commonly added to plant milks during manufacturing include guar gum, xanthan gum, or sunflower lecithin for texture and mouthfeel, select micronutrients (such as calcium, B vitamins, and vitamin D), salt, and natural or artificial ingredients—such as flavours characteristic of the featured plant—for aroma, color, and taste.

The production of almond-based dairy substitutes has been criticized on environmental grounds as large amounts of water and pesticides are used.

[6] Many plant milks aim to contain the same proteins, vitamins and lipids as those produced by lactating mammals.

[9][29] Huffington Post stated that due to health and environmental reasons as well as changing consumer trends, more individuals regularly buy non-dairy alternatives to milk.

[1][32][33] A scientific journal article argued that plant-milk companies send the message that plant milks are 'good and wholesome' and dairy milk is 'bad for the environment', and the article also reported that an increasing number of young people associate dairy with environmental damage.

[29] Animal welfare concerns have also contributed to the declining popularity of dairy milk in many Western countries.

The first described "the liquor with which animals feed their young from the breast", and the second an "emulsion made by contusion of seeds", using almond milk as an example.

[48][49] The Canadian Food Inspection Agency limits the use of the word "milk" solely to ″the normal lacteal secretion, free from colostrum, obtained from the mammary gland of an animal″.

These rules date from the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, and are still in force in Great Britain.

[66] A 2018 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation found that consumers in the United States do not typically confuse plant-based analogues with animal milk or dairy products.

[needs update][68][69] Proponents of plant-based milk assert that these labeling requirements are infantilizing to consumers[70] and burdensome and unfair on dairy-alternatives.

A 2020 USDA study found that the "increase in sales over 2013 to 2017 of plant-based options is one-fifth the size of the decrease in Americans' purchases of cow's milk.

[76] A 2020 clinical review stated that only appropriate commercial infant formulas should be used as alternatives to human milk which contains a substantial source of calcium, vitamin D and protein in the first year of life and that plant milks "do not represent an equivalent source of such nutrients".

[80] A 2019 Consensus Statement from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Heart Association concluded that plant milks are not recommended for infants younger than 12 months and that for children aged 1–5 years plant milks may be useful for those with allergies or intolerances to cow's milk but should only be consumed after a consultation with a professional health care provider.